The Bonding
by Athena Maxwell
Summary: It has only been a few months since the destruction of Talpa, but a something new is arising. Eight dragons search for their Ronin and Warlord bonds. The question is, will they find them? CH. 5 up now!
1. The Begining

Ah the dark. How beautiful and welcoming it was, in a silent kind of way. Now if only the others would shut up. Chaos raised her huge black draconic head. "Shut up, all of you, now!" She rumbled. The 7 other dragons fell silent. Chaos was the largest, compared to Blaze, the red dragon, who was her same size. Those two were the largest and strongest by far, and of course the only females. Besides those two were Tsunami of Torrent, the light blue. Gabriel of Halo, the green. Cliff of Hardrock, the brownish- orange. Comet of Strata, the dark blue. Shadow of Illusion, the dark reddish green. Cobra of Venom, the blackish green. Blaze of Wildfire, the red. And of course Chaos of Darkness, the black.  
  
Cobra, Shadow, and Chaos were Dragons of Dynasty while the others were Dragons of Ronin. Each had a partner, except for Jackal, who had died a few months ago. It had been a loss for all of them, but it was short lived. Chaos and Cliff had been the first to stop grieving. After that all of them had stopped, spread out over the period of one week. Chaos had not wept like the rest of them; instead she used anger and had destroyed a couple of towns before she ended her grieving period.  
  
The last few months had been uneventful, but today was different. Today they would meet their bonds. The ones they would fight along side and spend the rest of their waking moments protecting. Even in their dreams they would protect them. So was the life of a dragon. Chaos rose from the ground, huge claws scraping against stone. "Lets go, we can't keep our bonds waiting." Chaos spread her huge wings, pumped them a few times and took off into the air. Chaos heard the others follow a few seconds after her. Blaze flew up along side her and both let out thundering roars. Rain fell and lightning flashed, the search for the bonds had begun. 


	2. The Meeting and Flight of Fire

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, just the dragons and their forms and friends. I also don't own the locations, 'cept for a special few I made myself. Now that that is cleared up, on with the story!!  
  
  
  
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Chaos landed atop a mountain peak, her keen reptilian eyes scanning the area. The other landed on various peaks and ledges nearby, all looking around and sensing for any sign of their bond. Chaos felt a slight tug to the north, as did Shadow and Cobra. The other felt tugs to the west, leaving Chaos and blaze with only on thought. "Split off and search, we'll meet again when the time is right." Chaos and Blaze boomed out together. With parting growls and small snarling roars the dragons split away from one another. The Dragons of Dynasty heading North, the Dragons of Ronin heading West.  
  
Chaos, Shadow, and Cobra flew in silence, but each was transmitting thoughts to one another. In these thoughts they were laughing hysterically and talking about such things that dragons do. Each one had their own wing beat. Shadow had large wing beats but they were silent and made only the slightest bit of wind. Cobra had fast wing beats with brief gusts. While Chaos had sweeping silent beats the blended with whatever was going on around her. Each was unique but each thought each other the same.  
  
The Dragons of Ronin were much different than the Dragons of Dynasty. They swooped about, laughing harshly and playing about, like their teenage bonds. Gabriel was the only one who flew straight but he did pull a few tricks every now and then. Cliff and Tsunami where the loudest of all, wrestling in mid-air as they were. It was no surprise when they crashed next to the house their bonds were staying in. Cliff laughed as he got off of the fallen Tsunami, "Come on Tsu', we found our bonds." The smaller and faster blue dragon pulled himself up and looked around, "Well it's about time." Gabriel, Blaze, and Comet landed nearby, shaking their heads and laughing.  
  
Lights flicked on in the house and shouting could be heard from inside. The five bedraggled, boxer-clad Ronins stumbled out of the house. At the sight of the five dragons standing their yard the Ronins froze. "Someone please tell me there aren't five dragons in our front yard." Cye pleaded, leaning against the nearest thing, which happened to be Kento. "I hate to tell ya buddy, but we got dragons." The larger teen said, never taking eyes off of the huge reptilian forms before him. "I told you not to tell me." Cye muttered irritably.  
  
Cliff and Tsunami looked down at the two teens before them. Cliff tilted his head to the side. "Are you Kento of Hardrock?" He asked in his deep rumbling voice. Kento nodded meekly, not really sure of what else to do. "Ha! I told you I'd find mine first Tsu'." Tsunami shook his head, "Don't call me that Cliff, you know it makes me feel like a girl." "Hey!" Blaze snorted. "I heard that." Sorry Blaze, just pointing it out." Tsunami said in an apologetic tone. Blaze shook her head, "Whatever Tsunami." And so proceeded to bonding of Ronin and Dragon.  
  
Chaos landed with a small thud! Cobra and Shadow landed on her right and left. Slowly the proceeded through the darkened Dynasty castle, or what was left of it. An accidental swing of Cobra's tail sent what was left of a wall toppling over in a cloud of dust. "Nice going Cobra, now they know we're here." Chaos grumbled and sat down, curling her tail around her claws. Cobra and Shadow did the same as shouts and the pounding of feet could be heard in the halls. "Here they come." Chaos thought, flashing a glance into the shadows.  
  
Kale, Dais, and Sekhmet skidded out of the shadows, all clad in sub-armor. Chaos stood and looked around. Lowering her head she shoved Dais to one side, "Shadow, that one's yours." She lifted a claw and gently pushed Sekhmet towards Cobra, "That one's yours genius." She said, laughing a little. Cobra snorted indignantly, "I'll get you for that Chaos." Chaos growled a little, "And how may I ask, are you going to do that?" Cobra backed away a little, "Never mind." Chaos nodded and turned to the last Warlord remaining. She snorted, "So you must be Kale. Well then, I'm Chaos your bonded dragon, leader of the Dragons of Dynasty."  
  
Kale nodded but looked a little confused. "Let me guess, you're wondering why you got the female. Well let me tell you. I am the strongest, so are you. I am the leader; you are of what is left. So in turn you must have a strong leader of a bond, so that's why you got me." Kale just looked even more confused. Chaos shook her head, "In time you will see." She turned her head to look at Shadow, Cobra, and their bonds. Sekhmet and Dais had already mounted them and were waiting for Kale and Chaos.  
  
Chaos turned back to Kale and lowered her left forearm so he could step up. "Come on, we don't got all day." Kale stepped up and swung a leg over her neck. "Ready!?" She boomed, hunching down for a swift take off. "Ready!" "Then lets fly." Chaos sprang into the air, huge wings beating in sweeping motions, taking her and Kale higher with each beat. Cobra and Shadow followed a few seconds after. All three let out a roar of war, followed by a pillar of flame from Chaos.  
  
Blaze raised her head, as did the others. The Ronins had mounted their bonds and were waiting for a signal of some sort. The bellowing roars and huge pillar of flame had been it. All 5 sprang into the air simultaneously, each one beating his wings in time with Blaze's. The in turn let out their roars, it wasn't as strong as the Dynasty Dragons but the pillar of flame set out by Blaze was comparable.  
  
All flew in the same direction, east, to meet for a final battle. This time there would e no Ancient to get in their way. The Dynast Dragons laughed harshly along with their bonds. This would be a fight to the death, and they would win.  
  
  
  
No I did not just give you the ending, wait till the next chapter to find out. 


	3. The Dream

Again the disclaimer: I dun own the characters or Ronin Warriors, just the dragons. Also I don't own the song I put in. If I get the area of the sun wrong don't flame me, I don't really pay attention to things like that. On with Chapter 3, The Dream  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
The Ronins were flying in a very ragged formation. Being loud and having fun, as usual. The first to notice the group of huge dark colored dragons in front of them were Cliff and Tsunami. Both let out a quite warning to be silent. All obeyed as the approached, falling into a cleaner formation. Blaze in the front, Gabriel and Comet on her left, Cliff and Tsunami on her right. Ahead of them Chaos was leading, Cobra on her right Shadow on her left.  
  
Chaos suddenly dropped out of the sky like a rock, huge wings pinned to her sides. Cobra was the next to drop. His body streamlined and pointed to increase speed. Shadow was next. He circled once and dove in spiral, showing off just for fun. The remaining 5 dove one at a time after making a quick circle to find a landing spot. The Warlords had dismounted and were walking feeling back into their legs. Cobra stood next to Chaos, Shadow was somewhere else. Cobra and Chaos gently butted their heads together as Blaze landed nearby. It was obvious they were close, but still very few knew about it.  
  
As soon as the Ronins had dismounted Blaze and chaos met. "Well that went by fast." Blaze commented as the two greeted each other. Chaos nodded, "Aye it did. Do you think this is a good place to hold the fight?" Blaze looked around. The pair was standing on a sandy beach dotted with rocks and driftwood here and there. Chaos's left shoulder faced a huge pine forest and beyond that was a mountain peak and relatively active volcano. The volcano was craggy and had a small desert surrounding it. A huge black cave took up one whole side of a mountain. The tops were peaked with snow and some of them disappeared into the clouds. The sun was just setting over the sea. It sparkled off the river that flowed into it. Behind Blaze and a little to the right was a large field, it had high grass up to their bonds chests. In other words, it was perfect.  
  
Blaze nodded, "It will have to do." Chaos nodded as well, "To human form?" "To human form," Blaze and chaos reared onto their hind legs, catching everyone's attention. In a burst of black and red they were gone, but standing where they had just been were two females of equal height. The others followed their example. Soon human forms replaced all of them.  
  
Cobra and Cliff were huge! Both were about 6'9" and well muscled. Gabriel and Tsunami weren't as well built. They were average build and about 6'1". Shadow and Comet were just a little smaller and made for speed. Both were about 6'0". Blaze and Chaos were the smallest. Both stood at 5'7" and were well muscled for females. Both were made for speed.  
  
Cobra and cliff looked almost alike. Both had short black hair. Cliff's was just a little longer than Cobra's; but cobra had a green diamond pattern dyed into his hair. Both of them had dark eyes. Cliff's were full of life; Cobra's were soulless and dead. Gabriel and Tsunami both had blue eyes; though Gabriel's had a little more life in them. Gabriel had short blond hair, while Tsunami had short auburn hair. Shadow and Comet were different. Shadow had short dark hair like Cobra's with a red design of a spider web dyed into it. Comet had short brown hair with a pattern of blond stars dyed into it. Both had blue eyes as well. Chaos and Blaze were in no way alike. Blaze had long black hair down to her shoulders. She had dark eyes as well. Chaos had long brown hair down to her lower back. It was tied back in a long tight braid. Her cold steel- blue eyes contained an unknown fire to them. Each dragon/human wore clothes of their respective scale colors.  
  
Each split off in groups. Cobra and Shadow were hanging around with Comet, Tsunami, Cliff, Gabriel, and Blaze. Their bonds were in the same group, just a little farther off. Chaos had disappeared, but of course no one had noticed. She had gone off to a cliff nearby. Her eyes were downcast and her head down as well. She stopped at the edge and sat down, her head in her hands.  
  
Chaos looked up at the almost set sun. What little light was left reflected off of her eyes. The collar of her black shirt was rolled down. Scars dotted her neck, shoulders and parts of her back. She shook her head, remembering each one with painful detail.  
  
~Crawling in my skin, these wounds they will not heal, fear is how I fall, confusing what is real.~ Chaos stared at the rising full moon, something inside of her snapped. She stood, silhouetted against the rising moon. Wolfish eyes replaced her own blue ones and a pair of over sized canines jutted out between her lips. ~There's something inside me that pulls beneath the surface, consuming/confusing, this lack of self-control I fear is never ending, controlling I can't seem.~ Chaos looked down at her huge wolf like paws, but still they were hands. She was now around 6' tall. Her body was covered in shaggy black fur. Her eyes were yellow with black vertical slits. Chaos still looked at her hands, wondering if this was her real self. Deep within her the urge to kill the mortals on the beach below was starting rise, making the pressure of killing even harder to bare. ~To find myself again, my walls are closing in [without a sense of confidence and I'm convinced that there's to much pressure to take] I've felt this way before, so insecure.~ Chaos growled low in her chest. It built up to a blood-chilling howl. She tilted her head back and let loose. Scars marked the body of this creature. A large lightning shaped one slashed down her left eye. It began at her forehead and forked its way down her face. It stopped at her eye but continued on beneath it. ~Crawling in my skin, these wounds they will not heal, fear is how I fall, confusing what is real.~ The small group on the looked up at the werewolf on the cliff. Cobra was the first up, cursing his head off. The other dragon/humans then the Ronins and Warlords followed him. Cobra may not have been made for maneuverability but when he wanted to he could run like the wind. Chaos lowered her head and hunched her shoulders. This form was annoying her, might as well rid herself of it, but there was only one way she knew of, death. A reflection of herself flashed across her eyes and a pair of ghost like figures appeared next to her. Jackal and Anubis had come. ~Discomfort endlessly has pulled itself upon me, distracting/reacting, against my will I stand beside my own reflection; it's haunting how I can't seem.~ Chaos turned and backed up. Her tail lashed back and forth, ears pinned as far back as they could go. She bared her fangs, growling. The figures disappeared as Cobra broke through them. Chaos stared at Cobra, her wolfish eyes becoming human again for a brief moment. ~To find myself again, my walls are closing in [without a sense of confidence, I'm convinced that there's just too much pressure to take] I've felt this way before so insecure.~Chaos slowly backed away, her foot paw sliding over the edge. With a growl she leaped backwards, falling into nothingness.  
  
Chaos woke up with a start. She sat up and looked around. She was lying next to Cobra who was fast asleep. She turned over and found Kale on her other side. Chaos sighed and looked around. A dream, it was only a dream. She gently shook Kale's shoulders. He looked up at Chaos, "Hm?" He yawned. "You ok?" She whispered. "Yeah I'm fine, just having a couple of out of whack dreams." Chaos nodded and settled back down. She felt Kale turn over to face her. "Are you ok?" "Yeah Kale, I'm fine." Chaos yawned and rested her head on his shoulder. "Ok, I just wanted to know." He lay back down and was almost instantly asleep. Chaos sighed. This was going to be tournament to remember.  
  
  
  
  
  
End Chapter 3, look for Chapter 4 coming soon. 


	4. Fight One: Cobra vs. Tsunami and Cliff

Disclaimer: You all know the routine. I dun own Ronin Warriors. The dragons are mine, etc, etc. Any who here it is. Chapter 4: Battle One, Cobra vs. Cliff and Tsunami.  
  
WARNING: This chapter does have graphic fighting in it, or at least as graphic as one can get late at night.  
  
The dragons are ( to me, you must ask for permission to use them.  
  
  
  
  
  
Cobra stood next to Chaos in the early light. He dwarfed her when they stood like that. They were the first up, but only for two reasons. Today was Cobra's fight and Chaos and him were indeed in love with each other. "You do know that if you lose Cobra, you'll be killed." Cobra nodded, he didn't speak much. Chaos sighed, "Cobra, why don't you ever take me seriously?" Cobra looked down at her. His soulless eyes flashed to life for a brief moment. "I do take you seriously Chaos, it's just I'm not going to lose. You should know that." Chaos smiled and leaned against him. Cobra circled his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer.  
  
The rising sun shone across the water of the ocean. Dancing on the waves like flame. "So, you guys are going to use the mountains and water as your field?" Cobra nodded. "Well that should be good for you, you're strong in both of them." Cobra nodded, but said no more. Cliff and Tsunami were walking up behind them. Both were far to over confident for Chaos's liking. Cliff had an over confident smirk on his face. Chaos wanted to kill him on the spot.  
  
Cobra sensed this urge in Chaos and gently squeezed her shoulder as if to say, "Hey, I'm the one who's going to be killing them." Chaos nodded slightly and broke away from Cobra to wake up the others. Cobra stood silent, staring into nothingness. His soulless eyes were set for the kill of the two 'lesser' dragons. Cobra felt rather than heard the footsteps of the others coming closer. He could pick bonds from dragons like flies from roaches.  
  
The group huddled together on the cold beach. A cruel wind was beginning to pick up, making white caps on the now choppy waves of the ocean. Black clouds blotted out the sun and swirled around in the eyes of Chaos. Rain began to patter down as the wind picked up, slanting it sideways. The bonds huddled together under the shelter of an outcropping of rock. The dragon/humans had gone back to their dragon selves. Cobra towered over Tsunami and Cliff. Tsunami wasn't all to sure on what t think about this, but Cliff was as overconfident as ever.  
  
Chaos was perched a top a sea cliff, tail dangling over the edge. Blaze was on one beneath her, but not that far. The others circled in a large ring above. Each dragon was about 2 of their body lengths apart. They were far enough above to look small but close enough for them to see the dragons below clearly.  
  
Chaos raised her head to the sky the sky along with Blaze. A pillar of black shot up from Chaos and a similar red one from Blaze. Both pillars entwined with each other, shooting up into the heavens. In a sudden explosion of light the pillars become one. A white light shafted down upon them.  
  
A ghostly form appeared on yet another rock above Chaos. The almost solid form of the Ancient stood atop the rock, staff and all. Chaos and Blaze bowed their greeting. The Ancient nodded his and turned to look at Cobra, Cliff, and Tsunami. "So, these are the ones chosen the begin. Fine choice both of you." The Ancient thought to himself. Normally he would not have allowed fighting like this, but this was for something far deeper than glory or blood shed.  
  
This tournament was being held to find out which of the leaders of these dragons was his daughter. Both Blaze and Chaos had claimed to be his blood daughter, but the Ancient had had only one daughter. He sent them off to find a group of dragons, no more than 5, to fight. The one that trained them right and won would be his real daughter, but something bothered him. The one called Blaze seemed far to over confident for her own good. He was about to read her mind but a roar caught him by surprise.  
  
Cliff hurtled forward, hoping to make Cobra overbalance. Cliff rammed into Cobra's chest with as much strength as he could muster. He didn't even faze him. Cobra looked down at the dragon crumpled beneath him and brought up a clawed forefoot. Cliff had just enough time to roll away as the claws came crashing down, shattering the rock. Bounding backwards Cliff found a good footing on the rocks and kept it. Now only if he could get Cobra into the water.  
  
Cobra stared around with his soulless eyes, taking in everything in sight. Cliff was standing on a loose rock and if Cobra hit a rock below him hard enough, Cliff would fall. A swift glance at the water told him the Tsunami was in place. Cobra flared out his wings and roared, leaping forward. His horns rammed into and through rock. Cliff laughed, but it was cut short as he fell away into the water. A rounding splash and single, rather high pitched roar told Cobra he had killed Cliff. Drowning a dragon of land was his plan the whole time, now for the water one.  
  
Tsunami pulled himself out from beneath Cliff's dead form. He surfaced and inhaled; a dragon only had so much lung capacity. Something closed over his jaw, sealing it shut before he could breath again. A huge form crashed down onto him from above, claws ripping. The water turned red with the gushing blood and dragon scales. Cobra surfaced out of the boiling sea. He inhaled briefly and spat something out. A loud scream was heard before the small blue dragon erupted from the water. Somehow he pulled himself onto land and flopped down.  
  
Tsunami's wings were gone, all that remained where a few tattered bones and skin fragments. The left side of his face was torn off, so was his eye. Cobra slithered out of the water, blood and water dripping from his massive form, "Would you like me to make the pain stop?" Tsunami groaned and nodded slightly. With a deft flick of his tail he rolled Tsunami over on his back.  
  
His huge claws flashed once. Cobra retracted from the dead corpse of the blue dragon. A long gash bled freely from his neck. Cobra looked at his bloody claws and snorted. He turned to Chaos, who was mentally beaming. He nodded to Chaos and The Ancient.  
  
Chaos turned to look at the man behind her. He nodded and she rose. With a brief flap of wings she was down by Cobra's side. She supported the big dragon with her own body and helped into the small field. The rain had become harder and the wind was almost skin tearing. Somehow Sekhemt, Kento, Cye, and Kale made it over to them. Blaze was sulking up on her rock.  
  
  
  
Cye and Kento were yelling their heads off at Sekhmet. In fact, they were incredibly close to killing each other. Chaos turned her head and growled. All three fell silent. As soon as Cobra had blundered his way into the caves, Chaos circled a few times and sealed of the cave with her own body.  
  
A bright light flared off of both dragons. Suddenly Cobra and Chaos were in their human forms and dragon forms at the same time. Chaos's huge dragon form still sealed off the entrance. Chaos hurriedly made her way to Cobra's side. Crouching down she looked at the blood freely flowing down his arm. Chaos shook her head and tore of the sleeve of her shirt. She tied it tightly around his wound and sat next to him.  
  
Cobra looked at the small figure with concern, his soulless eyes slightly dim. "You ok Chaos?" She looked up at him, a little dazed. "Hm? What? Oh…yeah…I'm fine." Cobra shook his head, laughing slightly. "Whatever." Chaos rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest, "Tomorrow Shadow fights." Cobra nodded, "That won't be pretty…" He was cut off by the look Chaos gave him, "And none will live…"  
  
  
  
  
  
Wouldn't you just LOVE to know what's going to happen next? Well you'll have to wait for ch. 5, coming in a few days, I hope… 


	5. Past Revealed

Well, here it is, chapter 5. It is gonna be a little sad, but that's ok. Anywho, you all know the routine and that the dragons are copyright to me, so…yeah. On with ch. 5, Loss.  
  
  
  
  
  
Shadow paced back and forth, his light blue eyes hard and emotionless. His dark hair was ruffled by the howling wind. He paused and looked up at the dark night sky. Could he do this? Would he survive? He had so much on the line, if he lost… He shook the thought from his mind and walked into the darkness.  
  
Chaos leaned against the cave wall, arms folded. She sighed; Shadow had been gone to long for her own liking. She was just about to head out when a large hand closed over her shoulder. Chaos stopped in her tracks and turned around to face Cobra. "What do you want?" She spat; she was in a dark mood for some unknown reason. Cobra looked slightly shocked, Chaos never spoke like this. He shook his head, but kept his hand where it was. "He'll be back, sooner than you think." Chaos sighed and leaned back against the wall.  
  
Shadow trudged on through the darkness, his head down in the blasting wind. He slowly passed through the field to where Chaos and Cobra were, his only friends were. He looked up briefly and shot them a glance, but he didn't stop. He walked past the two, eyes averted. Chaos turned to Cobra, a look of worry in her eyes. "Don't worry," Cobra said in a low voice, "He's just worried about tomorrow." Chaos nodded, "Maybe I should go talk to him-" "No," Cobra cut her off, "Let him think it through." Chaos nodded again.  
  
Shadow stared into nothingness, silent. Brief memories floated through his mind. His childhood, his old friends if you call them that, and his first transformation. A sudden flashback caught him off guard.  
  
*FLASHBACK*  
  
  
  
Shadow laughed happily. He was somewhere around the age of 4 without a care in the world. He ran about a green lawn, chasing floating bits of dandelion seeds. Suddenly a noise caught his attention. He turned to see his mother standing on the porch, a smile on her face. He ran into her arms and she swung him up.  
  
He saw his father exit through the back door, the tall man looked about, as if expecting something to happen. He yelled his wife's name and she turned. He yelled something else and suddenly he was running towards them, fear in his eyes. Something flew by his head, just missing him. It hit his mother in the neck and blood flew everywhere. His father caught him just as his mother collapsed to the porch front. His father pulled out a gun and shot whatever had shot his mother. Shadow stared at his mother's body, crying…  
  
*FLASHFORWARD*  
  
Shadow wiped his eyes on his jacket sleeve. Trying to hide his emotions. It failed. Chaos sat down near him, looking at him with her deep steel-blue eyes, they were almost the same color as his. He looked over at her, a single tear running down his cheek. She wiped it away with a gentle hand, her eyes showing caring and love for the young man. "I'm not going to ask Shadow, I know you'll tell me when the time is right." Shadow nodded, turning his head away.  
  
Chaos gazed at him, her eyes reading his soul. She cared for the young man, as a mother would with her child. "Shadow…come here." Chaos pulled Shadow into an embrace. It was all she could do at the moment, but it was better than nothing.  
  
Shadow cried into Chaos's shoulder. He circled his arms around her as she did to him. Chaos rubbed his back with a fist, trying to calm him the best she could. She had not been faced with this problem for sometime, or so it seemed. Shadow pulled back from Chaos, wiping away the last of his tears. "Thanks Chaos." He said softly. "You're welcome, you'd do the same for me." Shadow nodded and leaned back against the wall. He stared into the calm darkness, feeling drowsiness overcome him. He fell into a deep sleep; his flashback was just a memory, nothing more.  
  
  
  
Shadow stood at the ready, fist clenched by his sides. Chaos watched him from her perch of the previous fight. Her golden eyes stared at him intently. Cobra lay beneath her and blaze, curled comfortably around a rock, his strong claws cracking it slightly. Blaze lay hunched on her spot, claws dug firmly into the crumbling rock. Chaos looked up at the Ancient behind her, he nodded, giving his consent. Chaos let out an echoing roar.  
  
Shadow lept through the air of the cliff he stood upon, switching to dragon form in mid-flight. His strong wing swept out as he glided down to meet his combatants. Gabriel and Comet leapt at him, claws stretched forward. Just as they would have ripped into Shadow, he leapt up, wings pumping madly. He took of, straight up into the air. Comet was the first to follow. Gabriel stepped back slightly, head craned upward.  
  
Shadow suddenly dove down, past Comet. Comet's claws lashed out, catching the tip of Shadow's wing. Shadow roared out, his acidic blood raining down. Chaos stood, but she knew that if she went to help him… She lowered herself back to the rock's surface.  
  
Shadow came barreling down towards Gabriel. Gabriel was to slow as the larger dragon landed right on top of him. With a sickening crack, Gabriel's neck was snapped. Shadow pulled himself up. Comet dropped down next to him. Shadow turned to face him. Without warning he opened his mouth and out came forth a spray of acid. Comet screamed and fell back, his face melting away. Shadow leaped, snapping Comet's neck with one clean swipe.  
  
Blaze stood in a rage. She leaped forward, her claws outstretched. Shadow turned just in time to have her claws rip across his eyes and neck. Shadow screeched in pain, clawing at his eyes. Cobra barreled forward, knocking blaze away with his momentum. Chaos dropped down to the ground, her eyes burning with hatred.  
  
Shadow switched back to human form. He lie, unconscious upon the ground. Chaos bent her neck down to inspect him. She gently scooped him up with her claws. Carefully, she balanced herself out and took off. Cobra snarled over his shoulder as he took off after her.  
  
Chaos set down, landing on three legs instead of four. Kale came to meet them. As soon as he saw Shadow's body, he knew. "Dais, you'd better get out here." He called. The white-haired man strode out into daylight. "What is it?" He looked up at the gnarled body of Shadow. Dais remained silent. "If Shadow dies, you die." Cobra hissed, he was not in the best of moods. For he held his pain within him, as did Chaos.  
  
  
  
  
  
Chaos sat next to Shadow in the dull darkness. Sitting on the other side was Dais, but he just stared straight ahead. After a while Chaos sighed, "Dais, there's something you need to know." Dais glanced over at her and nodded. "Well, Shadow, Cobra and I. Well we have a deeper bond than you think…" Dais stared at her for a long moment. "You mean?" Chaos nodded and rested her hand on Shadow's pale brow. "That's why he fought for me, not just for me being the Ancient's daughter." Dais nodded understandingly. "It's all clear to me now." Chaos nodded, "Could you watch Shadow for a moment, I need to go speak with some people." Dais nodded and resumed his position, but every now and then he'd look down and check on Shadow.  
  
Chaos walked slowly out into the crisp night air. The stars were out and the moon was almost full. Chaos walked about slowly, ever searching. As she reached the crest of a hill she stopped. A figure was silhouetted against the moon. Cobra was sitting on a rock, one foot planted on the ground the other was bent. Cobra had laced his fingers over his shin and now he was looking off into the sky. Chaos smiled slightly and she walked down the rolling green.  
  
Cobra heard soft footsteps coming closer, but he didn't turn. Cobra sighed slightly as Chaos stopped next to him. "Did you ever wonder, Chaos, what would have happened if we hadn't become shapeshifters?" He asked in an unusually low voice. Chaos nodded, resting her hand on the rock. "I have spent many an hour thinking about that Cobra, but this is what was the start of it." Chaos tapped the side of her neck slightly. Cobra didn't even have to turn to see what Chaos pointed out. "If only I had run faster." Chaos shook her head, "It was not your fault."  
  
Chaos moved around to the front where she could see Cobra clearly. "Cobra," she sighed, "I don't know what to say. For the first time in my life I don't know what to say…" Chaos trailed off and looked away from Cobra. Cobra saw a tear slid down from her shadowed face. It glistened in the wane light. It fell from her cheek and hit Cobra's boot. Cobra had never seen Chaos cry before, it was shocking to him.  
  
Chaos was just about to fall to her knees when Cobra reached out and gently grabbed her arm, steadying her. Chaos gripped his elbow for support, but she wouldn't look at him. Cobra gently pulled Chaos to him, holding her against his chest with his other arm. Chaos buried her face in his neck and sobbed, tears streaming down her face. Cobra felt her hot tears slid down his neck, but it mattered little. In one fluid motion he lifted Chaos off the ground and closer to him. Chaos clung to him as he gently held her. "Come now Chaos, it will be alright." He spoke softly, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "I…have to tell him." Cobra nodded, "Alright, I'll be waiting here for you." Chaos kissed him gently on the cheek before she started off.  
  
Chaos came to where the battle earlier that day had been held. She climbed the cliff, and sure enough. Standing at the edge was the Ancient himself. "Hello Chaos." He said softly, turning around. "Greetings Ancient, I have come to you to ask of a favor." "Is that so?" The Ancient turned around and looked at her, or so it seemed because Chaos could not see his eyes. "Yes sir, it's a bit of a…personal plea." The Ancient nodded, "Go on." "You see sir. Cobra, Shadow, and I have been together for most of our lives. We grew up together and we love one another, but my bond with both of them goes deeper than friendship. For you see, Cobra is my husband." The Ancient nodded slightly, "Is that so? Do go on." Chaos continued, "Shadow came around about 20 years ago, I was 18 at the time. Well, you could say Shadow was an accident, but he is the most beautiful accident ever. I was wondering if-if you could heal him sir."  
  
"And you want me to heal Shadow because…"  
  
  
  
Chaos nodded, "Because Shadow is my son."  
  
  
  
  
  
Dramatic ending huh? Well I'm going to need 2 more reviews before I post the next chapter. Hope you liked this one. ^-^ 


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